Data Pack Wars: Vodafone vs Jio vs Airtel

By Techpads | Last Updated: November 14, 2017- 1:36 pm

It’s an incredible time for consumers in India, with companies of all shapes and sizes competing to grab their attention and woo them with lucrative offers. The telecom industry is currently the perfect example of a totally consumers market.

The data war was sparked by the launch of Reliance Jio’s 4G service in 2016. Since then, the leading telecom players in India have been in a bitter, cutthroat price war to attract the attention of heavy data users.

Reliance Jio was the gamechanger, offering unbelievable deals right from the start. Reliance Jio’s Dhan Dhana Dhan plan, priced at Rs.999, gives you 90 GB free data, unlimited voice calls and unlimited SMS. Jio recently increased the validity of this offer from 60 days to 90 days. This plan is available to and remains the same for both postpaid and prepaid users.

Reliance Jio also launched an offer for its Prime users on October 12. The new offer gave a 100% cashback for a recharge of Rs.399 before October 18. Even if the user has another recharge pack, he/she can recharge for Rs.399. The new recharge will become effective once the current pack expires. Jio called this plan a Diwali gift for its Prime users.

The company has recently launched the JioPhone, which is a bundled offer of handset and talk time.

Airtel: The First Responder

Feeling the heat from Jio, Airtel was the first to counter the unprecedented offers. Jio’s customer base has rapidly surged to over 125 million subscribers. Although this has not yet impacted Airtel’s user base, it was enough to get India’s largest telecom network to take notice and plan a retort to safeguard its market share.

The company launched myPlan Infinity. Airtel’s new plan is priced at Rs.999 and offers 50 GB of 3G/4G data and unlimited voice calls, even on roaming.

What if you’re unable to use 50 GB of data in the month? The new plan comes with a Rollover Promise, which allows the user to carry forward unused data to the next monthly billing cycle. There are no limits for daily data usage.

myPlan Infinity is available to postpaid users only, albeit both new and existing. Airtel has also launched a plan for its prepaid users, priced at a Rs.999. The plan offers unlimited local and STD calls as well as 4 GB of 3G/4G data every day for 28 days.

Airtel also rolled out a Rs.399 plan that offers free unlimited calls, both local and roaming, unlimited SMS and 84 GB of 4G data, with a validity period of 84 days. There’s a limit to the daily usage, at 1 GB of 4G data.

Vodafone Jumps onto the Bandwagon

In a bid to match offers made by Airtel and Reliance Jio, Vodafone rolled out its new plan, ahead of Diwali. Priced at Rs.399, the new plan offers 90 GB of 4G data and unlimited calling for six months.

The plan is limited to prepaid users, and Vodafone has not mentioned whether it is available to new or existing users, or both. Moreover, the plan may be restricted to certain regions. The company has not provided any details of when the offer would expire.

Vodafone, which is in the process of seeking regulatory approval for a merger with Idea Cellular, has announced a different plan for its postpaid users. Priced at Rs.499, the plan offers 1 GB data every day for three months as well as unlimited voice calls.